Mohammed Shami’s fitness is a concern for the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy because he may be leaving for Australia.
Is Mohammed Shami going to take a plane to Australia? It is the persistent query for which no one appears to have an answer. India captain Rohit Sharma stated in Adelaide that Shami’s return was possible, but he did not say when. The more alarming conclusion, however, was that the pacer’s preparation for Test matches is being hampered by a swelling knee. And in a competition that is still changing India’s T20 batting, all eyes are on the Bengal star as the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy (SMAT) nears its conclusion in Bengaluru.
Shami is definitely not flying to Australia anytime soon after undergoing a new fitness test and based on the Bengal camp’s instructions. At least not on Wednesday, when the bowler is scheduled to play in the morning of Bengal’s quarterfinal matchup with Baroda at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. After returning from a year-long injury layoff, Shami played in one Ranji Trophy encounter in mid-November. Since then, he has participated in all seven of Bengal’s SMAT games, including the pre-quarterfinal match against Chandigarh, in which he excelled with both bat and ball.
Run-fests expected
In many ways, it is fitting that the SMAT knockout stages are taking place in Bengaluru, where batting-friendly decks should help continue the trend of big totals witnessed in the group stage continues.
Over the years, the conditions encountered by the players at the SMAT haven’t often been format-friendly. Despite being played at the start of the season, seaming decks and two-paced nature of the surfaces have hampered batsmen from showing the relevant aggression. But this season, there has been a huge shift in the manner in which teams have gone about their business so far.
In the group stages at Rajkot, Indore, Mumbai, Vizag and Hyderabad, big totals were the norm as domestic batsmen continued to take the T20 revolution that has been undertaken by the national team. The tournament saw Urvil Patel score the fastest T20 century by an Indian as Baroda put up a world record total of 349/5. With domestic T20 leagues sprouting across India, teams opted for specialists as the race for the knockouts stayed alive till the last round. The unforgiving nature of the format meant Andhra, despite having just one loss in the group stages and with the best net run rate among all teams, had to play the pre-quarters, where they lost to Uttar Pradesh.
Matchups at M Chinnaswamy Stadium Baroda vs. Bengal (11.30 am): Mohammed Shami will take on the Pandya brothers in the morning match at the stadium known for big totals. Bengal would undoubtedly start as the underdog because Baroda appears to be the team to beat in the tournament. Delhi vs. Uttar Pradesh (4.30 PM): It is difficult to choose a favorite between the two teams because Delhi, despite having a young squad, finished first in Group C, while Uttar Pradesh finished second. The latter will undoubtedly benefit from the presence of Rinku Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.